Did you know that ELCA synods have domestic companion synod partners?

Shortly after I started this call as bishop, Bishop Paul Erickson of the Greater Milwaukee Synod invited me for a visit. It took over a year, but this February I finally made the trip to the our domestic companion synod. Every year, Greater Milwaukee Synod has a day of worship, conference (cluster) meetings, and workshops. They call it Together in Mission and it moves around to various churches. This year we were at St. Matthew’s in Wauwatosa, WI. I preached at the opening worship and taught an afternoon workshop.

Travel was a bit eventful on the way to Milwaukee, beginning with a snow storm in Boise Thursday. I was spending much of Thursday in Boise and figured I might get an airport hotel room for the early flight Friday, so I packed Thursday morning but forgot a few things, including my collar. I woke up early Friday for my flight to be delayed. I eventually got switched from Delta to United’s nonstop flight to Chicago O’Hare. From there I took the bus up to Miwaukee’s airport. That bus ride was really slow because Wisconsin was also experiencing a snow storm.

St. Matthew’s has a lovely sanctuary and a great space for an event like this one. It was an honor to preach to all of the leaders on the scripture passage, which was also the gospel for my installation as bishop. We sang the hymn DEM Pastor Liv Larson Andrews recently penned on the Beatitudes for the Byberg Preaching Conference and which she is still workshopping.

I was able to catch up with the current director, Tracy Polzin, of Camp Lutherdale. I met a staff member from Wisconsin Council of Churches and thanked them for all of their guidance during the pandemic and their current work and ministry. I met the nephew, Pastor Josh Graber, of Pastor Andrew Hinderlie (serving in the NWIM Synod at Trinity, Bonners Ferry). Josh served for about a year at Holden Village pre-pandemic.

I led a workshop on story-linking, linking our faith stories with the Biblical stories. This was a consolidation of the longer series I led for the Women’s Retreat at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp in 2023, at Holden Village’s Fall Sojourn in 2024,and at my former congregation in February 2020.

This morning, Sunday, Bishop Erickson and I went to the Spanish worship service at Ascension Lutheran Church (also home of the synod offices) and then stayed afterwards for lunch and a session led by Pastor Aida Muniz and an immigration lawyer on people knowing their legal rights in this moment and being prepared for ICE agents.